Thursday, March 10, 2005

MONTEREY, Calif.A second shark has died after being bitten by a great white shark at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.A marine biologist says a soupfin shark died Tuesday after it was bitten by the great white the day before.Another soupfin shark was killed late last month by the shark.The year-old great white has in captivity at the aquarium for nearly six months, longer than any other great white in the world.Aquarium officials believe the great white shark only attacked the smaller, slower moving sharks as a reflex when it bumped into them.Still, the recent attacks are raising concerns among naturalists who say great whites aren't meant to be held captive."

http://tinyurl.com/6pethClick this link to see all stories on this. My fingers are tired.The good news is, the aquarium announced that they prefer to keep the shark on display and cast off the incidents as territorial disputes.This action comes despite efforts by environmental groups to pressure the aquarium to release the White shark.

Tuesday, March 08, 2005

For the second time in 12 days, the Monterrey Bay Aquarium's star attraction, a 4 1/2 foot female Great White shark, attacked a fellow display animal.Here is the story as it appeared in my yahoo.com shark attack alert service:

"Great white closely monitored after attacking another shark.Herald Staff ReportThe Monterey Bay Aquarium's great white shark was involved in another altercation early Monday.An aquarium spokeswoman said the large shark bit a soupfin shark around 7:30 a.m. while they were swimming in the Outer Bay Exhibit.The incident is the second in 12 days for the great white, which has been in captivity for a little more than six months and faces a return to the open sea if it is deemed too aggressive.Spokeswoman Karen Jeffries said the male soupfin shark had a 5-inch cut near its tail. It was removed from the Outer Bay and put in a separate tank, Jeffries said. It received stitches and is expected to recover, she said.Jeffries said the great white shark is an agile female that seemingly was not attacking the other shark but bit when it was startled because the soupfin was in its path."The soupfin sharks are slower drifters," she said. "It didn't look like an attack. They were swimming alongside each other.... It was non-intentional."There are no plans yet to move the great white, which has boosted attendance at the aquarium, but it will be closely monitored, Jeffries said.The first incident last month also involved a soupfin shark that was killed by the great white.Except for the fact that it resulted in a fatality, aquarium officials said the first incident was similar to the second in that the great white apparently attacked because the soupfin suddenly appeared in its path. In the first case, the soupfin's tail was severed.The aquarium's white shark has been in captivity for about 180 days, longer than any other great white."

Neither attack was a feeding predation, as evidenced by the remains of the dead one, and the fact that the second one survived at all. There is no need to release her and lose the opportunity to study the animal highest on the food chain. Our understanding of Great White sharks is too important to be lost because of two Soupfin sharks.

The White is the Outer Bay exhibit's "house mouse" and commands a wide berth. Just because she's a bully doesn't mean she's too aggressive to be on display.

A five foot Soupfin shark swam a bit too close and its tail was bitten off by the aquarium's star attraction.It's no surprise that the White shark is the Outer Bay exhibit's "house mouse" and the other fish always give her a wide berth. The Soupfin just got too close for comfort. It was not a feeding predation because aquarium employees found the remains at the bottom of the tank. It just goes to show that it's not a good idea to swim with White sharks (duh!!!).Oh well.

Here is the list of links and you all will be better people if you check them out.

Here is a video of some brilliant young minds that built a fully sized remote control car and have fun in the desert, or dessert, whichever is not the final course of a meal.http://turzman.com/misc/rccar.wmv

Tune in later when I tell all about my first adventure to the San Manuel Indian Casino and Bingo Parlor with fellow Coyote Chronicle editor, Christine. All I will say now is, never ever go there on a weekend.

Coming soon, the video of the lovely Great White shark I took at the Monterrey Bay Aquarium, as soon as I figure out how to use video editing software, make a dvd, and send it to Webmaster Steve.